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DIY: The BEST Way to Store Your Ribbon

Back when I first started my crafting venture I made hair bows. And of course with making hair bows comes ribbon…lots of it. And then there’s the storage of this ribbon. I’ve seen several techniques, but this way seems best to me so I’ll share with you how I do it.

The first thing you want to do is cut your matte board. The size really depends on how much ribbon you plan on storing and where you plan on storing it. The matte board I use comes in a 7″x5″ pre-cut package that I just cut in half. Draw a line where you want to cut. Using your metal ruler as a straight edge, line your metal ruler along the line you just drew. Press down firmly on the ruler and starting at the top cut using the ruler to keep your straight line. Note: using a plastic ruler for this step opens you up to slicing your ruler as you cut dulling your blade quicker and ruining your ruler. It will take a few cuts so don’t try to cut straight through on the first try. Now some people say that you are supposed to change blades after 3-5 cuts, but oh no, this isn’t that type of project. Since this is just for storage of ribbon this cut doesn’t have to be super clean and pretty…unless you want it to be of course. My finished matte board is 5″L x 3.5″W.

Next take a sticky note (I cut mine in half) and write down all the information you can from your spool of ribbon:

Where you purchased it.

Ordering information. Ask the store associate for this information if you have to. This way when it’s time to order more ribbon you can give them the information they need. This can include a sku number, vsn, etc. If you ordered online this information should be listed on the invoice.

Anything else you can think of that will help you to maintain stock of this particular ribbon: color, size, pattern, material, price etc.

You may want to skip this step and write directly on your matte board. You can if you want, but I find it better to use a sticky note because you can reuse the matte board without having to erase or mark over old ordering information just in case you no longer want to use an old piece of ribbon.

Once you have that written down, wrap your ribbon around your matte board. Note: don’t pull the ribbon too tightly otherwise you’ll get a crease. When you get to the last couple of wraps, insert your sticky note. Putting the sticky note here makes it easier to access the ordering information without having to unravel the entire roll of ribbon (I placed it on the matte board THEN rolled the ribbon the first time I did this, bad idea). Finish wrapping and secure the ribbon with a rubber band. Now you can throw away that chunky spool…or you can upcycle. I want pictures if you do!

Place in your storage container and you’re done! I like to group mine by color because it’s easier to find what I need. I hope this post helps you keep up with your ribbon better than keeping it in a big, messy plastic bag. Did I do that? No, of course not… Please let me know if it does in the comments section below! If you know of any other ways to store ribbon please share that, too! All of my social links are listed below so don’t be a stranger. 😀